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Pakistan government must take Army on board: Mirwaiz

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

New Delhi: The new civilian government in Pakistan has to take the Army on board before implementing its ideas on the Kashmir issue, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said.

“It is very difficult for any Prime Minister in Pakistan to come up with a set of ideas and try to implement it on its own unless and until there is a backing of other institutions in Pakistan,” he told Karan Thapar in CNN-IBN’s “Devil’s Advocate” programme.

Asked whether he was referring to the Pakistan Army in particular, the Mirwaiz replied “In particular ... We know it for sure.”

His response came after constant questioning over the spate of statements by Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani and PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari indicative of a change in the Kashmir policy by the new regime in Islamabad.

“I don’t think there is a change in Pakistan’s policy but definitely in approach, and which I feel is a welcome sign,” he said.

“Because if we have to address the issue of Kashmir, we have always said that out-of-the-box solution and out-of-the- box approach are needed.”

He was asked to react on the comments of Mr. Zardari that India and Pakistan should not be hostage to the UN resolution but could agree to disagree and, additionally, they should leave the Kashmir dispute to a later wiser generation and instead get on with improving their relationship.

The Mirwaiz insisted that Kashmir was important to the Pakistan people and could not be sidelined. It did not matter what individual politicians said. “In reality if we have to move forward, we have to understand the fact that Kashmir is a very vibrant issue in Pakistan....I am absolutely confident that no government in Pakistan can sideline the Kashmir issue...no government can afford [to do] it,” he said.

“The Hurriyat Conference is always of the view that we as Kashmiris believe that the time has come when Pakistan has to think in terms of what is in the interest of Kashmiris rather than what Pakistan is going to get out of Kashmir,” he added.

India and Pakistan cannot have a workable relationship till the Kashmir issue is resolved, he said. Denying that the Hurriyat was an obstacle in Indo-Pakistan friendship, he said: “We want to be a bridge of friendship between the two countries. But whatever Zardari is saying or Gillani is saying, the fact is that Kashmir is a bone of contention and you cannot have a workable relations between India and Pakistan unless and until there is some movement on Kashmir.”

The Hurriyat chairman extended support to the four-point solution proposed by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf despite being termed “half-baked” by the Pakistan Prime Minister. — PTI

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